Dorothy Aruru Otsuki/Bond Story

Together with her pet dog, Toto, Dorothy is blown off to a faraway land by a tornado. There she seeks the help of the great wizard Oz, and thus embarks on a journey to the Emerald City... From the play "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

Girl Who Fulfills a Certain Dream

Aruru:

I'm baaack ♪

Tsukasa:

I'm back!

Misora:

I'm ba— huh? *sniff* *sniff*

Misora:

It smells like... cake!?

Aruru:

You're right! The scent of freshly baked cake is the best.

Tsukasa:

I know! I guess Shizuha should be decorating it just now.

Misora:

Whose birthday was it today?

Tsukasa:

It's not a celebration cake but a reward cake.

Aruru:

Reward cake... Oh! Could it be a reward for finishing "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" audition!?

Tsukasa:

Oh, you're smart, Aruru!

Aruru:

Yay! A sweet cake for my tired body ♪ Smelling it is nice but it's even better if I get to eat it.

Misora:

Reward cake for "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" audition...

Tsukasa:

Oops...

Misora:

Aw man!! If only I got the Dorothy role, then I would've enjoyed the cake whole!

Tsukasa:

How much do you intend to eat!? Also, it's everyone's cake so you can't have the whole cake!

Misora:

Oh...well, you raise a fair point...

Tsukasa:

But I can understand how you feel because I also like "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". I'd prepared a lot and was aiming for Dorothy's role too.

Tsukasa:

But it is what it is. My Scarecrow and Misora's Toto are both splendid characters. If we feel strongly about the play, then we have to focus even more on our roles.

Tsukasa:

Turn the frustration from the audition into motivation for acting! Isn't that right?

Misora:

Motivation for acting... You're right!

Misora:

Alright! I'll act out the best Toto ever, so be prepared, Aruru— no, Dorothy!

Aruru:

Heh heh, I've been prepared since the beginning! I have to act out a Dorothy that surpasses Misora's!

Tsukasa:

I see. The two of you have been in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" play once before.

Aruru:

Yeah! With Misora's parents' Sky Blue Theatre Troupe!

Misora:

At the time, I was Dorothy and Aruru was Toto though.

Aruru:

It was so much fun! Misora's Dorothy was a shining girl who was a crybaby but brave!

Aruru:

I fell for both Dorothy and Misora. After the play had ended, I kept playing pretend as Dorothy. But...

Aruru:

I could only be the me reading out Dorothy's lines earnestly. I couldn't be the shining Dorothy...

Tsukasa:

Shining Dorothy?

Aruru:

Yeah, a shining Dorothy like the one Misora had acted out!

Aruru:

How should I put it? A shine that feels like you're expressing the feeling of love with your entire body!

Misora:

I've been told that by everyone in the theatre troupe but it's embarrassing to have her say it.

Tsukasa:

Heh heh, that's fine. When you say "love", do you mean love for the stage and acting?

Aruru:

Yeah! The stage, play, family, theatre troupe — a shine that says you will never, ever let go of the things that are important to you ♪

Misora:

............

Aruru:

In any case, I was jealous of that shine! So I set out on a journey to find my own!

Tsukasa:

So you quit pretending to be Dorothy and became a real Dorothy.

Aruru:

Yes! In order to find Misora's performance-like amazing shine... To find my "love", I kept searching for encounters everyday!

Misora:

Search for encounters? Did you do something like that?

Aruru:

What, did you forget!? We started soccer together!

Misora:

What!? That time when you suddenly invited me to join the soccer team was to look for that shine!?

Tsukasa:

Haha! Misora hadn't noticed at all. That's so like Aruru though.

Misora:

Well, it's fine to rush in at full speed but the team practices were too tough so you were exhausted right away.

Aruru:

But it was fun because I was with you!

Misora:

Aruru, could you suddenly saying you wanted to take painting class also be because of the shine?

Aruru:

Exactly ♪ I drew a lot and got praised a lot!

Misora:

Right. You also ate the bread eraser and got scolded a lot too.

Aruru:

Ahahaha! Then do you remember the time I found a place to play Go and we didn't know anything about it but went in anyways?

Misora:

I remember it well. Even after they explained the rules to us, we still didn't understand, so in the end we just played Gomoku instead.

Aruru:

Yeah, that's right ♪ We also did garbage duty volunteer and singing with these older girls who played instruments. It was fun.

Tsukasa:

You two haven't changed at all. Aruru, you rush off at full speed and Misora, you follow in a panic.

Misora:

Haha, that might be what it looks like at a glance.

Misora:

But I didn't know that my Dorothy was the reason behind all the running around town.

Aruru:

So nostalgic... The excitement and unease from going to new places, and meeting kind people — it was just like Dorothy's big adventure.

Misora:

I went with you on such a big adventure so you better be grateful.

Aruru:

Yes ♪ I wouldn't have been able to experience all of that without you. Thank you, Misora ♪

Misora:

Oh, I was just kidding.

Aruru:

It's a big thing! It's thanks to you that I was able to prepare myself for Dorothy's role. So leave "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to me this time!

Misora:

When you put it that way, then I have to face my role as Toto with all I've got too.

Misora:

I'm counting on you for the best Dorothy ever.

Aruru:

Yeah ♪

Tsukasa:

Heh heh.

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" Rehearsal

Aruru:

(As Dorothy)
"Huh!? Hey, Toto — you saw that, didn't you? This Scarecrow winked!"

Misora:

(As Toto)
"I didn't see that but this Scarecrow looks suspicious! I think it's alive! Woof woof!"

Tsukasa:

(As Scarecrow)
"Hello, cute witch. Is this energetic puppy yours?"

Aruru:

(As Dorothy)
"Toto is my friend but I'm Dorothy, not a witch."

Tsukasa:

(As Scarecrow)
"Oh, pardon my rudeness. Hello, I'm the Scarecrow who talks without thinking. Can you forgive me?"

Aruru:

(As Dorothy)
"It's fine. This is my first time to see a talking Scarecrow. How do you do?"

Tsukasa:

(As Scarecrow)
"How do I do? Not good. I get bullied by the crows who are smarter than me. I want them to stop immediately. "

Misora:

(As Toto)
"Why don't you leave this field? Even I know to do that."

Tsukasa:

(As Scarecrow)
"Take a look behind me and you'll understand. I can't because there's a wooden stick that goes through me."

Aruru:

(As Dorothy)
"Oh, you're right! Does it hurt?"

Tsukasa:

(As Scarecrow)
"Well, no, because I'm made out of straw. But I can't stand the boredom so I'd be happy if you could remove it."

Aruru:

(As Dorothy)
"Wait just a moment, I'll take it out! Alright, hmph, hnngh!"

Misora:

(As Toto)
"I'll help too!"

Tsukasa:

Both of you have improved with your timing. You can feel how well Dorothy and Toto get along ♪

Aruru:

Huff, huff... Yay, we got Tsukasa-chan's approval~ ♪

Misora:

Once more before I forget the feeling!

Tsukasa:

Hmm... Let's take a break first. Shizuha and Lalafin should be here soon, so we should let Aruru catch her breath before everyone gathers.

Misora:

Oh... Sorry, Aruru. We got really into it, didn't we?

Aruru:

Thank you, you two... ♪

Aruru:

Haa... Tsukasa-chan, Misora, you both sure have stamina.

Tsukasa:

Haha, I'm no match for her.

Tsukasa:

Is it because you were raised in a theatre troupe? You have both stamina and a solid foundation.

Aruru:

She did a lot of vocal and muscle training with everyone in the theatre troupe since she was young!

Tsukasa:

I knew it. No matter what role, your foundation is always solid.

Misora:

I always kept up with the basic training so it makes me happy to hear this from you, Tsukasa-senpai!

Tsukasa:

Even if you have stamina, you can't make up for the difference in time spent on stage. I was troubled over that.

Aruru:

Yeah, I completely understand ♪

Tsukasa:

Right? Those like me and Aruru who didn't start performing until high school— wait...

Tsukasa:

You also went on stage, right, Aruru? You were in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" with the Sky Blue Theatre Troupe before.

Aruru:

Yeah, but it was just that one time. After that, until I entered Frontier, I never stood on stage again.

Misora:

You continued watching plays and helping out with Sky Blue though.

Aruru:

Any time outside of that was being immersed in the big adventure to find my shine ♪

Tsukasa:

The challenging new things that you talked about last time, right? But it's strange that you didn't try standing on stage again.

Aruru:

Hmm... It might be because I was more impressed with Misora's Dorothy than the stage itself.

Aruru:

It was Dorothy over stage! I felt closer to Dorothy when I was spending time with Misora instead.

Tsukasa:

I see, so it didn't get you interested in other roles or performances. Elementary schoolers are like that.

Misora:

I don't think that it was because she lost interest in the stage.

Tsukasa:

Huh, why?

Misora:

Hm... Just, somehow?

Aruru:

Somehow?

Misora:

Yes, somehow.

Tsukasa:

Heh heh, like a best friend's intuition. Maybe it's the roles this time, but the two of you are exactly like Dorothy and Toto exploring the Land of Oz.

Aruru:

Heh heh... But you see, Tsukasa-chan, we arrived at a new frontier during our big adventure!

Misora:

New frontier...? Oh, that's what you mean.

Tsukasa:

What is it? By your big adventure, do you mean what we were talking about before?

Aruru:

Yes! In the middle of the big adventure to search for shine, we watched Tsukasa-chan and everyone's S-Con!

Tsukasa:

Ah, so that's how it got tied together.

Misora:

Yes. That day, Aruru suddenly said to go watch. I had always planned on going so we went together.

Aruru:

And it was amazing!

Aruru:

It was so free and the performance was dynamic. I could feel how all the performers got along well! It made me feel how this is where happiness is!

Tsukasa:

Heh heh. That's completely Frontier's school tradition.

Misora:

That's right. I heard about it afterwards but up until then, Aruru always thought that the stage is a quiet and cultured place.

Aruru:

But Frontier's play was full of energy. It taught me that rules aren't everything!

Aruru:

All the experiences gained through encounters, fun things, sad things — everything can be done on stage! I was mind blown!

Misora:

That's so you to use that expression, but I can understand. I also received a big shock.

Tsukasa:

I understand too. Like, how you've taken a step forward before you know it. I'm the same as everyone and think it's fine to just express yourself.

Tsukasa:

We've probably been Frontier-fied.

Misora:

That's right. I was impressed with how everyone's characters clashed and it made me want to try the same acting style!

Aruru:

My big adventure... It feels like the path that I walked down has led me here ♪

Tsukasa:

That's kind of like Dorothy. Like how she finds things that are important to her on her way to the Emerald City.

Aruru:

Yes! That's exactly it!

Aruru:

But the yellow brick road for me and Misora continues beyond the city, far beyond that rainbow, continuing on forever!

Aruru:

Towards Tsukasa-chan, Lalafin, Shizuha-chan, Karen-chan, everyone else at the other schools. And also—

:

Towards many, many stages!

Aruru:

...!

Misora:

Continuing on forever — forever increasing the things that are important to us.

Misora:

Going down the path of the stage, we've been blessed with so many wonderful encounters.

Aruru:

That's right! Plays are encounters. It's been decided!

Tsukasa:

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is also about encounters. This play will definitely lead us to the next one.

Aruru:

Yeah! Let's walk straight ahead with everyone toward another brand new "encounter" ♪

Aruru:

My favorite scene in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"? There are a lot, but probably the one where the scared, crybaby Dorothy thinks of her home and gathers her courage ♪

Aruru:

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is really famous and loved by so many people!

Aruru:

This play and its main character, Dorothy, are really special to me. They're irreplaceable.

Aruru:

I want to make a play that's filled with this precious "specialness" of mine. Let's go "Over the Rainbow"!